School of Business

Detailed Information

The Graduate Business Program offers a program of graduate study leading to the degree of Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) that consists of practical courses that are useful in the workplace. Every course is planned so that it will be a meaningful learning experience that is beneficial to the individual in his or her career. Many of the courses have a quantitative emphasis with computer applications. Courses are offered in the late afternoon and evening from Monday through Thursday. Two to four courses are offered on Saturday mornings. While M.B.A. programs are often criticized for producing graduates who master technique but lack substance, the Providence College program gives due consideration to the social purpose and responsibilities as well as to the technical aspects of business. In short, Providence College recognizes the critically important challenge of “humanizing’’ business administration programs.

The Providence College M.B.A. Program fosters an interdisciplinary approach to the problems facing Rhode Island and American businesses. The faculty includes professors not only from the School of Business but also from the political science, sociology, psychology, and economics departments. In addition, about 10 percent of the courses are taught by adjunct faculty members who bring to their classes a wealth of current, practical business experience.

The M.B.A. Program requires a total of twelve to nineteen courses, depending upon the student’s undergraduate background. Theses, while not required, are encouraged; they may be purely academic, but practical, applied topics are also welcomed. The M.B.A. Program has links with local businesses and with the state government for the promotion of research projects and internships.

M.B.A. students have access to seven public computer laboratories. The labs are open from 8 a.m. until midnight, Sunday through Thursday; until 8 p.m. on Friday evenings; and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. The labs are equipped with state-of-the-art Pentium III computers running the Windows XP professional edition. All computers have access to the Internet via a T3 pipeline. All seven computer labs are part of the campus network, and printing is available at each location. Providence College has a Helpdesk available in Accinno Hall, room 102, which is open during the computer laboratory hours and is staffed by student assistants who can provide help with the supported software packages installed on the lab computers.

The Phillips Memorial Library holds 300,000 volumes in open stacks and has seating accommodations for 1,000 students. The library is a member of the Consortium of Rhode Island Academic and Research Libraries (which includes the libraries of Brown University, the University of Rhode Island, and the Naval War College), making the resources of most of the libraries of the state available to Providence College students. The library is also a member of the New England Library Network (NELINET) and the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), which has 3,800 member libraries and a database containing more than 10.6 million records. Through interlibrary loan, most of the resources of these libraries are available to Providence College students.

Nearly all M.B.A. students have full-time employment, and about half receive financial aid in the form of tuition reimbursement from their employer. There are a limited number of graduate assistantships available for full-time graduate students.

For the 2007–08 academic year, tuition was $1140 per 3-credit course. The total tuition cost for the M.B.A. program ranged from $13,680 (for twelve courses) to $19,750 (for twenty courses). The cost of books averages $150 per course. The graduation fee is $150.

No College housing is available for M.B.A. students, but there is an adequate supply of rental accommodations in the Providence College area. While prices vary widely depending upon quality, a two-bedroom apartment in the area rents for approximately $500 to $700 per month.

Ninety percent of the 250 M.B.A. students work full-time. The 2007 graduating class of 37 students averaged 28 years of age and consisted of 17 men and 20 women. More than 90 percent of the entering students score above 1100 points on the AACSB International–The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business criteria (200 times the undergraduate GPA plus the GMAT score). More than 90 percent of the students are from Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts and Connecticut, but more and more students are being attracted from other regions of the United States and from other nations; in the past few years, students have been accepted from Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Pakistan, the Panama Canal Zone, the People’s Republic of China, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Thailand, and Turkey.

Providence College’s beautiful 105-acre campus is located about a mile from the state capitol and 3 miles from the center of Providence, Rhode Island. The College enjoys the advantages of an atmosphere that is far removed from the traffic and commerce of the metropolitan area, yet it provides easy access to the many cultural attractions of a city that is not only the capital of one of the original thirteen states but also the location of a variety of institutions of higher learning.

Providence College is primarily a four-year college of the liberal arts and sciences, with an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 3,600 men and women. It is conducted under the auspices of the Order of Preachers of the Province of St. Joseph, commonly known as the Dominicans. Founded in 1917 under an Act of Incorporation approved by the General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island, the College states in its charter: “No person shall be denied any of the privileges, honors or degrees of said college on account of the religious opinions he may entertain.’’ Providence College is a coeducational equal-opportunity institution and is duly accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. It is also a member of AACSB International and, wherever feasible, adheres to its principles.

Application materials may be obtained from the M.B.A. Program director. Applications are considered throughout the year, and students may enter the program in any semester. Full semesters start in September and January, and two 5-week semesters start in May and July, along with a three-week intersession during the Christmas holidays. Detailed application instructions are contained in the Graduate School catalog. Students must submit the completed application form, the application fee ($55), two letters of reference (preferably one academic and one professional), and an official undergraduate transcript from a regionally accredited U.S. college or university (or, if an international institution, one recognized by the American Council on Education). Applicants are required to take the GMAT examination prior to admission into the M.B.A. Program. Applicants whose native language is not English are required to take the TOEFL examination.

• Deirdre Bird, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Purdue. International marketing, nonprofit marketing, services marketing, international marketing.
• Paul A. Brule, Adjunct Instructor; J.D., Suffolk. Legal environment for business.
• Helen M. Caldwell, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Connecticut. Advertising, international marketing, promotion strategy, marketing management.
• Ronald P. Cerwonka, Professor Emeritus; Ph.D., Missouri. Financial analysis, theory of finance.
• Piotr Chelminski, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Connecticut. Marketing research, international marketing, marketing management.
• Mark DeFanti, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Texas A&M. Planning and developing new products, marketing communication, advertising seminar in marketing.
• Cemal A. Ekin, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Academy of Economics and Commercial Sciences (Turkey). Marketing theory, management information systems.
• Peter S. Goodrich, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Manchester; CMA. Business ethics, management seminar, seminar in business.
• Carol A. Hartley, Assistant Professor; M.B.A., Rhode Island; CPA. EDP audit, financial accounting theory, seminar in financial accounting.
• Patrick Kelly, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Connecticut. Managerial accounting, accounting ethics, nonprofit accounting.
• MaryJane Lenon, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Connecticut. Urban economics, managerial economics.
• Gregory Light, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Michigan. Operations research, economics and financial forecasting, mathematical concepts.
• James W. Martin, Adjunct Instructor; M.S., Northeastern. Production management, operations research, industrial organization, economic forecasting.
• Ian G. Morris, Adjunct Instructor; D.B.A., Oxford. Business planning and development, industrial organization, international marketing, marketing research.
• Francine Newth, Assistant Professor; D.B.A., Nova Southeastern. Business policy, global strategic alliances, international business.
• Francis T. O’Brien, Associate Professor; M.A., Boston College. Collective bargaining, labor relations.
• Vivian Okere, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Rhode Island. Econometrics, financial modeling, derivatives, international finance, investments, business finance.
• Catherine Pastille, Adjunct Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Rhode Island. Leadership theory, human resource management, operations research, business ethics.
• Theodore J. Przybyla, Adjunct Instructor; M.B.A., Bryant. Money and capital markets, international finance, derivatives, investment theory.
• Robert G. Rambo, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Florida State. Managerial accounting, financial accounting theory, international accounting.
• John J. Shaw, Professor; D.B.A., Oklahoma. Consumer behavior, international marketing, marketing management.
• Pamela Sherer, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Massachusetts. Human resource management, diversity in the workplace, organizational behavior.
• Qing Shui, Adjunct Instructor; M.B.A., Providence. Computer software packages for business computer systems.
• William J. Waters, Adjunct Instructor; Ph.D., Ohio State. Managed health-care systems, strategic planning in health care, seminar in health care.
• David A. Zalewski, Professor; Ph.D., Clark. Managerial economics, international finance, money and capital markets, business finance.

Correspondence and Information